Dollar bills stolen from Comet Tavern ceiling

The dollar bills people have pinned or otherwise stuck to the ceiling of the Comet Tavern can be seen at the top of this photo. (Photo by Jason Lajuenesse)

What? No respect for an iconic Seattle bar?

As work started to return the Comet Tavern to its glory days, someone broke in through a window facing East Pike Street Tuesday and stole all those dollar bills pinned to the ceiling above the bar, says David Meinert, one of its new owners.

The Comet Tavern (Lindsey Wasson)

The bills – stuck to the ceiling with paper clips and pins – had been a longtime tradition at the bar, which had fallen on financial hard times and had closed in October.

Every once in a while, the bills were taken down and donated to Northwest Harvest.

“There’s a lot of construction equipment in there, including ladders,” said Meinert, assuming they were used to take the bills down.

He guessed the ceiling had $100 to $200 of dollar bills pinned.

“They were pretty dirty looking,” he said.

Among the comments on Meinert’s Facebook page was, “Pretty unbelievable actually. Sorry to hear it. That thief clearly does not have proper respect for history.”

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.